Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals starts phase-3 trial of HCV drug

By Alaric DeArment

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has enrolled the first patients in its late-stage trial of a treatment for hepatitis C, the drug maker said Thursday.

BI Pharmaceuticals is conducting the "HCVerso" trial of an HCV drug that combines faldaprevir, the experimental compound BI 207127 and ribavirin. The company has established trial sites in more than 25 states.

"We are proud to announce that the first patients are now enrolled in our phase-3 HCVerso program, including at U.S. trial sites," BI Pharmaceuticals VP clinical development and medical affairs Peter Piliero said. "Patients infected with HCV may benefit most from an individualized treatment approach since a person's genetics, type of virus and stage of liver disease vary from patient to patient."

Previous trials of the drug have found that patients have been essentially cured of the virus a few months after starting treatment with the drug.